Hide The Rum!
by oh-you-pretty-things
Summary: Post DMC. Gibbs always said that it's bad luck to have a woman aboard...and Will is starting to believe him. Best hide the rum from Will Turner! WE. Oneshot.


DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise or any of the characters associated with the film. They are the property of the Walt Disney Corporation.

_AN: Drunken Will challenge put forth by Mandylion on the HTR forums. Enjoy!!_

Will sat moodily on the top of the mast, just below the crow's nest. It was too cramped in there, definitely not enough room to move around – not to mention, Gibbs was already in it. It was just that he couldn't stand to be down _there_, where he might accidentally run into_ her_. She should be sleeping at this hour, but when had Elizabeth Swann ever done what she was supposed to be doing? Will knew that answer well enough. Too well, in fact.

The image of her kissing Jack Sparrow with so much _enthusiasm_ was forever burned into his brain. He couldn't sleep, for when he closed his eyes that scene was all he ever saw. It frustrated him that he had no one to confide in with this wretched burden. Also, if he wasn't being tormented by the cruel imagery, his mind was busy finding other ways to torture him. For example, it often wandered to the time Elizabeth and Jack spent the night on a deserted island. He had always assumed that she'd remained chaste, but now how was he to know? She'd been on that island all night, from what she'd told him. Sure, she'd burnt the rum, but only after she'd consumed some herself!

A strong wind ripped through his hair and Will sighed noisily, clunking his head off the crow's nest. Gibbs peered down at him.

"Yeh alright, Mr. Turner?" he asked, "That's no place to be fallin' asleep."

"I'm fine, Gibbs," Will responded automatically.

Gibbs shrugged and took a swig of rum. Will stared ahead into the black night sky. "Have you ever been in love, Gibbs?" Will asked suddenly.

Gibbs stared ahead as well. "Aye," he said at length.

Will looked up at him. "What happened?"

There was a long pause before Gibbs answered. "It's bad luck to have a woman aboard."

Will merely raised his eyebrows in agreement. "It's bad luck to have a woman at all."

Gibbs gave Will a more serious glance and then followed his line of sight to the deck. A particular blonde head stood out in the night air.

"Here," Gibbs said, pushing his flask at Will. "You need this more than me."

Will stared at the flask. Normally, he would have declined. Normally, he wouldn't have thought of turning to the drink that had ruined his master's life and of which Elizabeth disapproved so much. Normally, he wouldn't have _needed_ it so much. He took the flask and swigged back a gulp of the stinging liquid. He coughed suddenly, having not been prepared for the potency of the alcohol. Gibbs laughed heartily and whacked him on the back causing Will to nearly fall from his perch.

"That is _vile_!" Will exclaimed. As he stared at the flask in his hand, he caught sight of Elizabeth looking up at all the commotion. Gibbs waved down to indicate that everything was alright. Her dark eyes penetrated Will's soul even in this encompassing darkness. His heart ached – so he took another swig. It wasn't so bad the second time around.

Gibbs passed the time, while Will completely drained his flask, telling him about all of Jack's incredible journeys. Will wasn't at all interested in _Jack Sparrow_, but he hadn't the inclination to tell Gibbs because his toes had gone quite numb. It was a sensation he had never had before. In this state, listening to Gibbs' raspy voice, he could easily detach the man he'd seen Elizabeth kissing from the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow. They were two completely separate entities.

"Wait," Will slurred suddenly. "So, you mean to tell me that Jack traded _this_ flask and a raft of sea turtles for a ship?"

"Aye," Gibbs responded confidently.

Will looked momentarily confused and scratched his ear before shrugging in acceptance.

"Might be bollocks, might be truth," he muttered to himself. At that moment, Marty appeared on the other side of the crow's nest.

"Time to switch, Gibbs," he said, peering at Will in the meantime.

"Aye, excellent!"

"Marty!" Will exclaimed excitedly. Marty merely stared at Will in confusion. "Tell me, Marty, have you ever been in love?"

Gibbs turned to Marty and gave him an apologetic look before turning back to Will. "Mr. Turner, perhaps we best be getting down to the deck."

Will hung forward precariously, staring down below. "Is _she_ down there?" he whispered.

"I don't see her," Gibbs said carefully. The truth was he did, indeed, see her but he doubted that Will would come down if he told him so.

"Excellent!" Will said excitedly, standing up on the mast unsteadily. "That's wonderful news, Gibbs!" he exclaimed with a wide smile.

The ship hit a high wake and Will pitched backwards suddenly, flinging the flask back up towards Gibbs. Automatically, he pulled out his father's knife and plunged it into the sail before collapsing on his back on deck. Gibbs cringed at the damaged sail. They were going to have their work cut out for them tomorrow, that was for sure. He made his descent as quickly as his old legs would carry him.

Will lie on the deck, a little stunned, but surprisingly without much pain. He blinked twice and then struggled to stand.

"Are you alright?" he heard from behind. It was a very familiar voice. The voice of a woman who made his heart soar. He spun quickly – a little too quickly.

"'Lizabeth" he muttered rapidly, pointing his finger in her face.

"Yes," she said, watching him in confusion. "Are you alright? Did you hit your head?"

Will rubbed the back of his head absently and peered at her. "I can't…I _cannot_ speaze wiz you," he paused to frown and try his words again. "Speeeeak. Wiiiiith. You."

He smiled as though he had accomplished a great feat, and given the amount of rum he had consumed in such a short period of time, it was a great feat. When Will remembered that Elizabeth was standing before him, his eyes caught sight of her concern and he recoiled in apparent disgust. He looked off in the distance and started to swagger off.

"I need more rum," Elizabeth heard him mutter. By this time, Gibbs had made his way to the deck.

"Is he drunk?" she hissed in astonishment. Gibbs offered her only an apologetic shrug before chasing after Will and preventing him from pitching himself overboard.

"Rum!" Will insisted. Gibbs nodded and sat Will down with his back against the side of the ship.

"Aye, aye. Rum," Gibbs repeated before leaving Will. What Will didn't know, and didn't need to know, was that Gibbs was off to find him some _water_.

Elizabeth walked up to Will and kneeled before him, peering at his face incredulously. "William Turner," she said, clucking her tongue. "You're drunk!"

Will looked up at her groggily. "'Syour fault."

"_My_ fault?" Elizabeth repeated, astounded.

Will waved his hand at her absently. "'Course."

"How so, Mr. Turner?" Elizabeth asked, her temper beginning to flare.

"You kissed Jack," he replied simply. Elizabeth's anger melted because the words had not been slurred. The words had been painfully accompanied by a tortured expression and brutal honesty. Also, Elizabeth now had to contend with the fact that the very last person on earth she wished to have witnessed her actions was the _only _witness to them. How could she tell him the reasons for her actions? How could she force him to carry that burden? She couldn't. That was the simple answer, the effects of which would be far worse than she could have imagined.

"Do you love him?" Will asked, the slur back in his voice. The question pained her heart.

"Does it matter?" she asked sharply.

Will stared at her blankly before jumping to his feet agilely. Years of practice had made the action possible. Years of training made his muscles still available to him in this state. He drew his sword daringly.

"I shall defend your honour!" he hollered.

Elizabeth gave him a very disapproving stare. "And, if my honour doesn't need defending?" she hissed angrily.

Will blinked and dropped his sword arm. Elizabeth realized immediately that he had taken her words in completely the opposite way she had intended.

"As long as you're happy, Elizabeth," he said looking stricken.

Elizabeth sighed, wishing she could tell him the truth and hoping that he would forget this conversation in the morning.

"I'd be happier if you'd put your sword away," she replied calmly.

Will did so automatically, but he also began advancing on her. Elizabeth wasn't quite sure how to react seeing as he was so drunk and apparently upset, so she backed up – into a pole. She was forced to stop, but Will wasn't and he continued until he was mere inches away from her. She could feel the abnormal amount of heat emanating from his body as a result of his intoxication and she could smell the rum on his breath.

"Elizabeth," he said, his voice becoming less slurred at last. "I want you to know that I love you. And no matter how you think _Jack_," he spat the word with evident distaste, "feels about you, I can guarantee that he doesn't love you as I do."

He paused, his eyes running down her body and making her feel far more naked than ever before. He picked up a strand of her long, blonde hair and ran his fingers along it lovingly. Without warning, his eyes were boring into hers and he closed the distance between them even further.

"No man loves you as I do."

Elizabeth watched him with wide eyes, unable to form a sentence at all. He was drunk and she was sure of it, but she had never seen him more confident in his affections than right now, on the deck of a ship with rum on his breath.

"No man," he whispered, drawing close to her ear and twisting his hand through her hair until it rested on the back of her skull, "not even _Jack Sparrow_ can kiss you like I can."

He mouth was slanted over hers before she even had the chance to draw breath, searing her very soul with an intense kiss. It was more than a kiss, though. It was a melding of their very existences. Elizabeth could ignore the rum flavouring of his tongue because of what it was doing in her mouth right now. Dancing, tangling, making her want more than a woman should out of wedlock. What Will didn't know was that he was right. No man could make her feel like Will did. No man could cause her knees to weaken beneath her in desire. No man could make her forget her personal pain. No man could ever love her as Will Turner could.

He broke the kiss suddenly, leaving Elizabeth breathless and wanting more. He looked at her with his sad brown eyes, tracing a finger along her jaw line. Elizabeth closed her eyes, lost in the very sensation.

"No man," he whispered once more. Elizabeth then heard a hard thud which caused her to flutter her eyes open. She glanced around, noting that Will was nowhere to be seen. She saw Gibbs holding a glass of water just a ways off, but no Will. She tilted her head at Gibbs as he pointed downwards with his index finger. Her eyes grew wide when she saw him: spread eagle on his back, passed out on the deck.

"Come on, Gibbs," she said resignedly. "Help me put him to bed."

Gibbs looked at her and shook his head causing Elizabeth to huff in irritation.

"Bloody pirates," she muttered as she attempted to lift Will herself. Will's eyes opened momentarily and he wrapped his other arm around her, knocking her off her balance and forcing her to crash land on his chest. Will's eyes promptly shut again and she was trapped in his dead weight embrace.

"Well!" she exclaimed as she finally managed to wiggle her way out of his arms. "If that's the way it's going to be, he can just stay there all night!"

Gibbs looked at her and nodded. "Aye. It'll be good for him."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Will was rudely awakened by a glass of water to the face. He sputtered and blinked, the hot sun blinding him in the process of his waking up. He sat up and glared at Gibbs, fully remembering the beginning of the night before. Elizabeth was standing nearby staring at him with a very strange expression. Did she still love him after all? Will frowned, confused. He stood up carefully and looked around.

"How do you feel?" Marty asked.

Will brushed off his coat and thought about the question. "Fine," he said, surprise evident in his voice.

Elizabeth nodded abruptly, which he only caught in his peripheral, and then disappeared inside the cabin, without a word. Will stared at Gibbs and gave him a questioning look. Gibbs merely shrugged and muttered his reply as he walked away.

"If you ask me, it's bad luck to have a woman aboard."

Will shrugged and looked up into the sky. He started to follow Gibbs when he noticed something very odd indeed.

"What on earth happened to the sail?" he asked as he walked by, shaking his head at the crew. Bloody pirates.


End file.
